When you go to school with teenagers that drive themselves to and from school, not everyone is going to sport a seat belt. Some students are more focused on getting in their cars and getting from point A to point B as quickly as they can, so seat belts become an afterthought. In order to bring awareness to the importance of seat belts, Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) does annual seat belt checks called Belt Wars. You know the students that stand at the exits of all the parking lots and stop the cars? That’s SADD making sure you’re buckled up. Even though the seat belt check makes leaving school a little longer, their intentions are good and students need to take the seat belt checks more seriously.

Like I previously stated, students are more focused on leaving school over anything else. When the clock hits 2:05 and the bell rings, every student that drives rushes to their respected parking lot. Parking lots are madhouses in a matter of ten minutes. Drivers are ecstatic when they are finally able to pull out of their spot, only to be annoyed when they are stuck in line. Is it really such a pain to have a student check to make sure you’re wearing a seat belt? I think not.

Everybody knows that wearing a seat belt is the best way to prevent serious injury or death in car accidents. Even if you’re driving less than five minutes to get home, wearing a seat belt is important. A person never knows when an accident may happen, and they should not take any risks.

I can understand why students may find the seat belt check irritating, because they want to leave as quickly as they can. After being in school for over seven hours, students are thrilled to leave. Plus, the fact that most of the extra time is spent just waiting can be bothersome and cause some cranky students. Even so, being in the parking lot for a couple more minutes will not do any harm.

Hopefully students will make seat belts less of an afterthought and more of a prospect. SADD is just trying to remind students of something that should be on their minds when they get behind the wheel. So OHS student drivers need to stop grumbling and just buckle up.